Francis Ford Coppola Describes ‘Megalopolis’ as a “Roman Epic Set in New York”

Francis Ford Coppola has his cast for the self-funded epic “Megalopolis”.

Adam Driver is set to play the lead role in the film, which is said to start shooting in September and has had its cast set aside 6 months of their time for production (until February).

Coppola was in Sicily for the Taormina Festival and he spoke about “Megalopolis”. This is a translated from an interview he did with an Italian newspaper:

I always try to do things in my style, but in the end I always find myself making films that I don't quite know how to make [smiling]. It's a trait of my career, just think of works like “Apocalypse Now”. Now with “Megalopolis” I would like to make a Roman epic with the story of an architect who wants to rebuild a utopian New York City after a devastating disaster.”

"I was ready to shoot the film in 2001. Then September 11th happened and I realized that my vision of such a generous and friendly future world was shattered. I could not have made a film that spoke about the goodness of humanity when there was terrorism. So I let it go. Years later, while I was trying to lose a few pounds, I happened to listen to the recordings of that screenplay again and the spark started again.”

“The protagonist of this Roman epic will be played by Adam Driver. Epics have often inspired American cinema and Rome has been an example from which US politics also drew inspiration. In my film there is indeed a decay, the senate is corrupt and things don't work. But then someone comes along to change things. Although it is a story born twenty years ago, I believe it is very current and realistic.”

Driver will be part of a cast that also includes Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Voight. Cate Blanchett and Al Pacino is rumored to also have a cameo.

It’s been reported that Coppola will invest $120 million of his own money to make “Megalopolis”